Traditional Greenland Style Kayak

This one is a few years old, but was the project that got me seriously interested in hand-tools.

Back in 2010, I asked my wife if I could have a kayak. Jokingly, she told me that if I could build it, I could have it.

At the time, the only tools I had were a cordless drill, and an rusty toolbox of my grandfather’s that hadn’t been opened in probably 20 years. Digging through the toolbox, I found a plane, and hand-saw (which actually turned out to be my great-grandfather’s!), and a few other odds and ends that came in useful.

I spent the winter looking for plans for kayaks, and before spring settled on a traditional skin-on-frame kayak in the style of the Inuit from Greenland. I went to the local lumber yard, picked out some board, and started sawing.

The entire frame is pegged with dowels and lashed with artificial sinew. There are no metal fasteners. The skin is ballistic nylon that was hand stretched, sewn over the frame, then dyed. Overall the frame measures just under 18 feet long, and is about 20 inches wide. The deck, gunwales and keelson were made from pine, while the ribs were steam-bent oak. The paddle is also a traditional Greenland style, and was hand carved with my jack-knife from the clearest construction grade 2×4 I’ve ever seen.

I learned a ton from this project, including marking, sawing, mortising, steam-bending, pegging, lashing, and more.

A great Job with minimal tools. Look great and bet it paddles like a dream. Inspires me to finish two of this design that I have started. Recently I posted a Biadarka that I have been using for a number of years.

I puttered on this a few minutes each day all summer long, so I’m not really sure how long it took. I’ve read estimates that between 40 to 80 hours is reasonable. I know that when my daughter and I built her kayak after this one, that it went much quicker. We did use a circular saw to rip all the long boards for hers though.

Nice work. Always wanted (still planning) to build one. How much does it weigh?

- Picklehead

I’ve never weighed it, but I can pretty easily pick it up with one hand and heft it up onto my shoulder to carry it down to the shoreline. It’s kind of fun, actually, to walk past everyone who has to drive up to the loading areas, unload, then move their vehicles because their kayaks are so heavy.